HARARE, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing wave of cholera that has hit Zimbabwe's capital city of Harare caused one person dead and 20 others hospitalised, local media reported on Thursday.

    The 20 cases were reported in the city's suburbs such as Dzivaresekwa, Highfield, Budiriro, Chikurubi, Mbare, Glen Norah and Glen View, the daily paper The Herald said.

    Health and Child Welfare Minister David Parirenyatwa said the government has set up a cholera ward at Beatrice Road Infectious Diseases Hospitals to screen and monitor suspected cases.

    He urged people to seek medical help if they experienced signs of diarrhoea, as most deaths were a result of negligence.

    "We are encouraging people to maintain the highest standards of hygiene and to wash fruits and vegetables before consuming them to avoid contracting the disease," he said.

    He also urged residents to boil drinking water, saying the outbreak could be a result of poor water and sewer reticulation services.

    "As a ministry, we are worried by the way the disease is spreading across the country, but we are putting measures to eradicate it. People are visiting the hospitals at the critical stage of the disease when they have become dehydrated. Cholera kills within hours if treatment is delayed," said Parirenyatwa.

    A total of 27 people have died of cholera in Chitungwiza district of Harare, Mashnal and West provincial capital of Chinhoyi, and Kariba in northwest Zimbabwe bordering with Zambia since it resurfaced in August.